California (1947)

[Music] The second largest state in this land of ours is the state of California. California, the golden state, is bounded on the north by Oregon, on the east by Nevada and Arizona, on the south by the Republic of Mexico, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. [Music] The state of California has a coastline almost 1,000 m long and within an area larger than that of the British Isles has a great diversity of physical characteristics. Whitney rising 14,496 ft is the highest peak in the United States. While barely 60 mi away in Death Valley is the lowest point in the United States. 279 ft below sea level. The romance of the development of California is inseparably linked with El Camino Rial, pathway of the historic Spanish missions. These havens of refuge 21 all were spaced a day's journey apart from San Diego in the south to Soma in the north. [Music] One of the most dramatic chapters in our country's history is the story of the gold rush. At Col is a statue to the memory of James Marshall, whose discovery of gold in 1848 started thousands of fortune seekers pouring westward. Although the gold rush has long since subsided, there still remain the oldtimer patiently panning the gravel of a wayside stream. and the giant placer mining machines washing tons of earth in search of the precious metal. The capital of the state of California is at Sacramento. California was the 35th state to be admitted into the union and its capital building is one of the oldest and most beautiful in the country. At the southern end of the state is San Diego, oldest city in California. San Diego is an important port and naval base, and it has one of the finest zoos on the Pacific coast. Just to the south of San Diego is the California Mexican border, one of the world's friendliest frontiers. The entrance to the San Francisco Bay region is crossed by the Golden Gate Bridge, the longest suspension span bridge in the world. The largest city in the Bay region is San Francisco, a metropolis of almost 1 million people. San Francisco, like Los Angeles to the south, is one of the world's busiest ports. San Francisco is a city of hills. These cable cars daily carry thousands of passengers up such inclines as Knob Hill, where once lived the first families of early San Francisco. Across the 8 and 1/4 mile long San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge is Berkeley, home of the University of California, one of the largest and finest universities in the country. The other of the two most important cities in the state of California is Los Angeles. In population, it is one of the first six cities of the United States. In area, it is one of the largest cities in the world. In addition to being widespread and a city of many fine residences, Los Angeles is the home of several outstanding institutions of higher learning. The University of California at Los Angeles is situated at Westwood and across the city is the University of Southern California, home of the famous Trojans. Near USC is the Mosangas Memorial Coliseum with a seating capacity of over 100,000 [Music] people. On New Year's Day, Pasadena plays host to the world with its annual tournament of roses. The flower bed floats are magnificent beyond the ability of words to [Music] describe. California is one of the few states with sufficient diversity of natural resources to sustain itself as an isolated empire if necessary. From the great central valley of the Sanwaqin and Sacramento rivers come fruits of every type and in quantities greater than from anywhere else in the world. California is one of the nation's leading producers of citrus fruits, oranges, lemons, and grapefruit with the center of citrus growing in the southern portion of the state. And speaking of the southern part of the state and agriculture, we cannot overlook Imperial Valley. Here, the water of the All-American Canal has transformed a desert wasteland into a rich agricultural empire. Almost every type of fruit and vegetable combined to create a yearly output valued in excess of $60 million. The raising of livestock is an important industry in California. Meet Tone Domino the 23rd. Thousands of dollars worth of champion beef on the hook. Mining ranks third among the basic industries of California and petroleum has far outstripped gold as the state's major source of mineral wealth. Proven oil reserves in known fields total almost 4 billion barrels or more than 1/4 of the nation's supply. Next to land and climate, one of California's greatest resources is abundant, cheap hydroelect electric power, supplying the state's steadily expanding manufacturing [Music] enterprises. From one end of the state to the other are industries of almost every type and description. For example, here are great shipyards, some of the most productive in the nation. A new and much needed industry in the expansion of California's economy is the making of steel. The production of synthetic chemicals, plastics, and rubber is becoming increasingly [Music] important. Before the war, California had already become the aircraft producing center of the country. Today it appears to be continuing in this important role providing pleasure craft and sky giants for the airways of the [Music] world. But of all of California's vast and varied industries, perhaps none is so widely known as the entertainment industry. Hollywood, the city of make believe, is the home of the motion picture. You recognize the names of most of these great studios which produce by far the largest percentage of the world's celluloid [Music] entertainment. Almost 1/ half of the land area of California is in national forests, parks, and monuments. North of San Francisco, the visitor travels over the famous Redwood Highway, driving mile after mile through giant redwood trees, which are among the oldest and largest of all living [Music] things. One of California's most awinspiring national park areas is Euseite with its unforgettable Euseite Falls. Out on the Southern California desert is world famous Palm Springs, where visitors bask in the warmth of the mid-inter [Music] sun. Now, suppose we review what we've learned about the state of California. We've learned that the modern history of the state began with the establishment of the missions by the Franciscan fathers. We've learned that the capital of the state is at Sacramento. We've seen the two major centers of population, the Los Angeles Long Beach and the San Francisco Bay areas. And we've learned that the Golden Gate Bridge has the longest suspension span of any bridge in the world. We've seen the lowest point in the United States, Death Valley, and the highest peak, Mount Whitney. We've learned that California possesses almost 1/4 of the nation's known oil reserves. That California is one of the leading agricultural states in the nation. That manufacturing is assuming ever greater importance in the state's economic life. And finally, we've had a glimpse of Hollywood, center of the world's motion picture industry. Yes, we've seen and heard a lot about California, one of the most prosperous states in the nation. California has always been a vigorous force in America's progress, a land of opportunity, the golden state in this land of ours. [Music]